Showing the world just how seriously you take your sustainable business values is a limb that most businesses would not go out on, we take our hats off to the those not just making a difference but adapting the business-as-usual approach to match their core values with their business aspirations.
https://lowimpact.organicbasics.com/gbp
As a sustainability consultant and zero waste coach, I love to find brands that "tick all the boxes" to recommend to clients - for the most part I make or purchase second hand clothes but I recognise that the majority of people I work with need a helping hand to get them to change certain behaviours - offering them a simple swap to a business championing the environment is often the way I get the ball rolling. I was overjoyed to find the organic basics website (FYI no endorsement) because for once a brand had decided to put their money where their mouth is.
Although I am known to many as the zero waste lady from Earthkind, my primary job is as a freelance creative and brand specialist. I am a proud member of Creatives for Climate and so, stumbling upon the Organic Basics website made my inner brand critic very happy. This company is not trying to commoditise environmentalism, they are not saying one thing and doing another, they have strategically made their passion for genuinely changing the way we shop, the centre of their operations. These guys are rebels with a cause, helping us question the existing online shopping experience and challenging our attitude towards achieving net zero in real terms.
The website runs low impact - meaning, they use no imagery or video to market their products but instead prove that their primary goal is to have a business that adapts in a way that could actually help us save the planet if others did the same. They visibly audit themselves on their site as to the carbon intensity of their operations - allowing customers to make the choice to increase carbon intensi
ty if they wish to see a "normal version of the site" with photographic imagery of the products. The products are quality organic clothing basics that do not date with passing trends and the business
model is sound, but the sugar-free, vegan icing on the gluten-free cake is their ability to call themselves and their competitors out on industry standard practices.
As a brand specialist, I'm excited for what this means to my own industry, as with most early adopters, the rest of the world usually follows suit 3-4 years later. As a sustainability consultant, my hope and wish is for other brands to see the benefits of open carbon accounting, taking responsibility and placing the choice back in the hands of the consumer, who has woken up to wanting better for themselves, their families and the planet but feel trapped by industry's slow respons
e and reluctance to put what matters first.
I take my hat off to Organic Basics and hope that they continue to inspire others with their moral self reflection, if you ever want to colab, I have some pretty rebellious ideas of my own!
